Here there be pirates

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The last thing Alfred had expected when they had been taken to the mysterious 'Roderich' was this. The albino pirate had taken the American and the Canadian deep into the ship and pushed them through a set of double doors. Eyes screwed shut, all Alfred could think was that they were going to die; he had failed their father; he hadn't looked after Matthew or watched out for pirates and now they were going to-
"Ve! New friends!" At the sound of the over-excited, possibly Italian voice, his blue eyes flew open. A kitchen. They were in a kitchen. In the back corner, fiddling with a bag of sea rations was a rather respectable-looking pirate. He had no piercings or obvious scars and he wore black knee high boots over tan trousers and a tailed jacket over his white shirt, thin rimmed glasses balanced over violet eyes. He wore his hat at a gentle yet jaunty angle, a curl of chocolate brown hair escaping from under it. As Alfred's gaze moved, he saw a younger pirate, presumably the one who had spoken. A red bandana settled over his auburn hair and his eyes glittered with excitement. His left earlobe was pierced, a gold stud settled neatly there and his red striped shirt rode to a little, revealing his pierced belly button over his black trousers. 
"Ciao! Who's the new friends, Gil?" the boy enthused, obviously Italian.
"Friends?" stuttered Matthew and Alfred quickly leapt in.
"U-um, I'm Alfred Jones and this is my little brother, Matthew Williams."
"Ciao! I'm Feliciano Vargas and this is Roderich Edelstein. We're the cooks, ve!" The man in the back corner gave a kindly smile and stepped forward. 
"The two of you look like you need some food..."
"Roddy, darling," drawled the albino from behind the brothers, causing Alfred to start.
"Yes, Gilbert?" The albino, Gilbert, sauntered over and pressed a kiss to the cook's cheek, causing him to blush, before he left. Seeming a little flustered, Roderich waved Alfred and Matthew into a seat.
"Feli, have we got some salt crackers and dried herring?"
"I'll look!" the Italian waltzed away and the cook perched on a stool in front of the two brothers.
"I suppose you have questions?" Alfred nodded, arm lacing around his little brother. Matthew nestled close to him, sighing softly.
"What's going on? Why are we here? What's going to happen to us?" The old pirate laughed softly. 
"Well, this is common. Welcome to the Valiant Lucy, ship of Captain Arthur Kirkland. Why are you here? Because we confiscated your vessel. Sorry, it's just the way things work. As for what's going to happened to the two of you, nothing. When we reach England and the port there, the Captain will let you go with enough money to return home or start a life in England. Or you can stay, like the rest of us." He spoke with no accent, although his English was over pronounced, as though he was fighting back an accent.
"So," piped up Matthew quietly. "Why, may I ask, is there such a... spread of people here?"
"Because we just stay," Roderich chuckled. "Feliciano over there is Italian, I'm Austrian. Gilbert, who you've met, is Prussian. The Captain and his family come from all over Britain. We hang on and choose this life. It's often better than our own." As Alfred contemplated this, there was an excitable 'Ve!' and Feliciano spun back in, crackers in one hand, fish in the other. Upon seeing the food, the American realised that he was actually rather hungry. With a smile, he took some of the crackers and dried fish, leaving the rest for his little brother. As he ate quietly, Alfred thought, 'well, I suppose I could get used to living as a pirate...'